The real bargaining power of the EU vs. US tech platforms

After initially pausing its launch due to Ireland’s privacy watchdog and broader EU concerns, Meta is now deploying its AI chatbot on WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger in Europe.

For now, the offering is text-based only and still tries to comply with proper platform regulations, which the US market mostly lacks. This involves, for instance, limiting functionalities and ensuring that the model isn’t trained on first-party EU data. This cautious rollout after a US launch back in 2023 with a more expansive feature set signals that the power balance is now clearly on the EU side.

For Meta, the message is clear: Europe, with its 450 million consumers, represents a market that’s as rich in diversity as it is in potential. Unlike the US, where consumer segmentation often narrows down to a relatively homogenous demographic and an impoverished middle class, the European market is characterized by affluent consumers coupled with a robust middle class. This dual structure creates an ecosystem where innovation isn’t optional; it’s a necessity. Ignoring such a dynamic arena would be a strategic oversight, especially in an era where consumer expectations and digital behaviors are evolving rapidly.

Despite all the bravado and sometimes quite delusional thinking we have in Europe about our innovation or tech leadership, we need to always remember that we are not Italy, France, Germany, Spain, and a few others loosely strung around a common currency. We are a larger, stronger, more attractive market than the US for the very American tech platforms.

This is the real core of our power.

In a period when tariffs appear everywhere, the irony shouldn't be lost on the CEOs of these tech companies.

For Meta, like Apple, Amazon, and others, innovation is less and less about scaling a US-centric model globally; it’s about crafting tailored solutions that resonate with local realities. Europe isn’t an afterthought—it’s a vital frontier that demands a proper understanding of regional dynamics—not something that American companies excel at.

What they usually excel at, though, is playing us against each other, finding the cracks in the markets and slipping in. Just like Microsoft, which very recently managed to get its cloud products selected as the main tech platform for the most prestigious engineering French school (Polytechnique), where the country's best and brightest future CEOs are trained.

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